Bite Me
by AsreonInfusion
Summary: Cloud has a little bit of a thing about vampires - the sort of thing that leaves him helplessly turned on. Finding out that his long-time crush is a vampire is the final straw.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Somebody over on Tumblr reminded me of my weakness for vampire AUs and... let's just say things got a little out of control. The 'I need this NOW' followed by just sitting down and writing five pages in one go sort of out of control. This fic is the result.

I'm not entirely sure what the heck is happening here, but just roll with it. Zack's a vampire, Cloud's a needy little shit who is aroused and stupid, there isn't any actual smut but more than enough suggestive things, and also blood drinking because vampires.

* * *

"Z-zack, please," Cloud gasped. His head was spinning, breath coming in shallow, rasping gasps. That was all the air he could get with Zack's hand around his throat.

He should have been terrified – he'd never seen Zack so upset before, eyes practically glowing with mako. Those sharp fangs of his were bared as Zack snarled at Cloud.

But more than anything, Cloud was only helplessly turned on.

"No. You're not avoiding this anymore."

"I wasn't—"

"I never pegged you as a judgemental fucking bigot."

Zack was pissed, that much was obvious. But that was something else in his voice too. Hurt. Betrayal. Cloud had never meant for this.

"It's not like that!"

"Isn't it? We were friends, Cloud. At least, I thought we were. I trusted you, and you just… what the hell was that, even? Maybe it was unexpected, but you didn't even stay to talk it through. Just freaked out and ran. And you've been avoiding me ever since – no messages, no calls. I know you've fucking seen me around because I came to find you – I was _worried_ for you – and you wouldn't even acknowledge me."

Cloud couldn't meet Zack's eyes at all, only squirming in his grip. Zack shoved him again, slamming Cloud hard against the wall behind him. Cloud made a short, broken cry before his voice cut out.

Seeming to realise what he was doing, Zack's grip loosened. But he didn't let Cloud go. If he did, Cloud would probably just try to run again.

Zack's scrunched his eyes shut for a moment, his other hand balling into a fist. All he wanted was a goddamn _answer_.

"Do you hate me now, Cloud? Knowing what I am? I thought you of all people wouldn't judge, but… well, guess I was fucking wrong."

"N-no…" Cloud said. Gods, it was so hard to focus. He needed to. But it was the lack of air, the was Zack manhandled him, the heat that was flooding his body despite – perhaps because of – everything. Cloud's face was flushed brightly, lips parted and eyes glazed. Helpless. Needy. How could Zack not see what he was doing to him?

"I'm sorry! I don't—I could never hate you."

Zack growled. "Then why won't you fucking _look at me_."

Slowly, painfully, Cloud raised his head to meet Zack's gaze. He hesitated. He owed Zack the truth, but not being able to find the words was what had got him into this whole mess in the first place.

Cloud swallowed. "I… I don't hate you, I don't care if you're a vampire or—"

"Liar. You freaked the fuck out when I told you."

"I…" Cloud's stomach flipped. Even just recalling it was doing things to him. "It was just—it was the last thing that I could take, Zack, I'm sorry, I swear. I _like_ you. I've had a crush on you for years!"

Once he had started his confession, the words just kept pouring out. "I've been trying so hard to hide it for so long, because I didn't want to fuck up our friendship, but gods, you were so _hot_ and so _nice_ , and then the vampire thing on top of that—I'm sorry. It's my fault, I'm creepy and fucked up and I didn't want to come across as some pathetic fang-banger but just thinking about it was…. I've never been more turned on in my life. There was just no way I could hide it anymore. I... I panicked and just ran."

Zack took a step back, his hand dropping from Cloud's throat. Cloud coughed, shoulders shaking as he gasped.

Zack stared at him for a long moment, not sure what to make of the confession. "And _that's_ why you were avoiding me?"

"I'm sorry. I fucked up. I just… I can't even function around you anymore, it's so stupid."

"…what, you're really that into the idea of vampires that much?"

Cloud blushed brightly; as if his face wasn't already red enough. "A-a little bit, but it's because it's you too. I've liked you for ages, that was just the last straw."

Cloud had thought he was finally starting to calm down a bit, now Zack had put some distance between them, but then the man moved in even closer than before. He took Cloud's wrists and pinned them above his head, trapping Cloud against the wall with the press of his own body. Firmly, but much more gently this time.

"Is that so?" Zack said lowly. "What is it you want then, Cloud?"

All of Cloud's composure buckled, as did his knees. His cock twitched within the confines of his trousers. _Fuck_. That tone…

"I can't be your friend, not anymore. I can't keep pretending. I need more… need you, want you, gods. You don't know what you do to me."

Zack chuckled, the sound of it still far darker than usual. "I can take a guess," he said. His hips rolled against Cloud's, grinding against the hardness there, and Cloud moaned in surprise.

"Was it the idea of me feeding on you that got you so worked up?" Zack grazed the sharp points of his fangs against Cloud's throat, feeling his pulse fluttering rapidly beneath Zack's touch. "Or the idea of me fucking you? Maybe both at the same time. Would you like that? If I bit into you, drained you while I took you roughly, ravaged that pretty little ass of yours?"

Cloud's whole body trembled, a moan bursting out from between his lips. _Yes_. Gods, fuck, yes, he would like that.

Even though there was nothing to restrict his breathing anymore, Cloud still felt like he couldn't get enough air into his lungs. He was panting desperately, not even able to find the words to answer.

Zack's thigh pressed between Cloud's legs, rubbing against his arousal, and Cloud arched into the touch.

" _Please_ ," he begged.

Instead of giving Cloud what he wanted, Zack released him and took several steps back. "Perhaps we should take a moment to calm down and think about this."

….fuck. Of course they should. Cloud couldn't help but slump in disappointment, though. He leaned back against the wall, needing the support with how damn weak his knees felt. He was acting so embarrassingly needy. Gaia, how had he ended up like this?

It was so stupid. He'd been thinking about this ever since Zack had trusted Cloud enough to reveal his secret. Cloud had been so into the idea. Imagining what it would be like to have Zack pinning him down, mouth on this neck, sinking those fangs into Cloud's flesh… yeah, that was exactly how he'd gotten himself so worked up. And then having Zack, terrifying and vicious and sexy as hell, dragging Cloud into his apartment and shoving him up against the wall out of nowhere… Cloud's mind had gone very dirty places, very quickly.

Cloud sank to his knees on the floor, back against the wall still. He swallowed hard. "I'm sorry," he repeated, not even sure what he was apologising for anymore.

Zack seemed to have accepted his apology, though. His previous anger had evaporated, mostly, and he now evaluated Cloud with wary interest. "So you don't mind that I'm a vampire."

"No, I swear. I think it's kind of hot, but that's not the only reason I want to be with you."

"And you _want_ me to feed on you."

Cloud only nodded. Yeah. He wanted that a lot.

Zack sat down on the sofa. "Come here," he ordered Cloud.

Cloud stumbled to his feet. As he approached, Zack reached out and grabbed his hips, pulling Cloud abruptly into his lap. Cloud's breath caught.

"You sure? You got my temper running a little high before… I might bite harder than you want me to."

Cloud bit his lip, the idea of it only fanning the flames of his anticipation. "Maybe I like it hard."

"Oh?" Zack purred. His hands slid up Cloud's sides, pulling the younger man against his chest. Zack's mouth nuzzled at Cloud's throat, and Cloud shivered at the intimate contact.

The heat was rising to his face again. "Zack, please…"

He got the feeling he wasn't getting laid tonight – not yet, at least – but maybe that was for the best. They needed to talk first, and Cloud's head was definitely not in the right place for that. But they could still do this.

"You know how this works, right?"

"I guess. Just do it, Zack, I want it."

Zack laughed softly against Cloud's throat. "You're not even concerned how much blood I'm going to take?"

"I trust you. You wouldn't ever really hurt me."

That laugh and Zack's smile faded. "You so sure about that, Cloud? Those horror stories about vampires are out there for a reason… it's all too easy to lose control. And I was ready to hurt you earlier, thinking you'd betrayed me…"

"No," Cloud insisted. "You wouldn't hurt me, not more than I wanted you to."

Zack sighed deeply, breathing in Cloud's scent as he did so. This time he was the one to shiver. "You're making it very difficult to resist you."

Cloud titled his head back, exposing his throat. His hands gripped tightly at Zack's shoulders. "Then don't resist."

Zack growled abruptly, and Cloud gasped as he was flipped over and pinned with his back against the sofa. Zack's weight bore down on him, and Cloud couldn't resist rolling his hips up to meet him. One of Zack's hands buried into Cloud's hair, jerking his head back again. The other hand firmly grasped Cloud's jaw, a thumb running over Cloud's lips. The grip was just a little too tight, but that only excited Cloud more. He was left gasping at the sudden intensity of it, ardour rushing back in an instant.

"Nn, Zack!"

Zack's fingers caressed Cloud's throat, tightening for just a moment as if in threat. Cloud didn't need threats; he submitted easily. The touches, the anticipation… he wanted this, wanted to be consumed. His breath was coming heavily again, expression open and needy as he met Zack's burning stare.

"Do it…" Cloud breathed.

Those sharp, deadly fangs were at Cloud's pulse point again. They dug in deeper this time, not enough to pierce the skin, but enough to make Cloud moan with want and cling tighter to Zack.

That was all the warning Cloud got before Zack bit down. Hard.

Cloud cried out, eyes rolling back and hips bucking involuntarily. He didn't want to get away, not in the slightest. But he couldn't stop himself from squirming beneath Zack as if trying to push him off, writhing and arching in Zack's iron embrace.

Zack had him firmly held down, mouth working greedily against the wound on Cloud's throat. The bite had been deep – Cloud could feel the wet warmth of his own blood trailing down the curve of his neck.

"A-ahh…! Zack, nn…"

Cloud's head was spinning again, heady with pleasure and pain mixed together. It had hurt at first - a lot - but now Zack's fangs had retracted and left only a dull ache behind. Duller than it should have been; there was enough mako in a vampire's saliva to numb the pain, and to help the wound knit back together faster once they were done feeding. Enough mako to eventually become addictive.

Cloud's fingers twitched where he clung to Zack's shoulders still, fighting to hold on. He could feel himself weakening with every drop Zack drank from him, leaving him more and more helpless at the vampire's mercy. He loved it.

Zack was touching him as well, the hand in his hair holding him more gently now, the other caressing Cloud's face.

"You taste so good," Zack murmured, low and rough. Just a moment's interruption, and then he was back on Cloud's throat again.

"Zack…" Cloud's voice was hoarse now, too quiet. He still shivered as Zack's tongue lapped at the wound, still steadily bleeding out. His lips were warm against Cloud's skin.

Gradually, Zack began to ease away. He kissed Cloud's throat, hot and open-mouthed, then more gently as he lifted his head with a sigh. There was blood stained all around his lips, on his fangs, a trickle of it in the corner of his mouth. Cloud's blood.

Gods, that was hot. Cloud wanted Zack to kiss him, let him taste it, but… he couldn't quite find the energy to drag him down. His head lolled.

"Cloud?"

"Nngh," Cloud groaned. He felt dizzy, limbs too heavy to move, but so good at the same time. Like he was floating. Zack brushed Cloud's bangs out of his face, revealing glazed eyes that wouldn't quite focus.

Zack cupped Cloud's cheek. "Hey, you okay?"

"Mm. Y-yeah… I…"

Speaking was too much energy. Cloud gave up and nuzzled his face into Zack's hand.

"Fuck. Maybe that was a little too much. Just… rest up, okay, Cloud?"

Not like Cloud was going anywhere in that state anyway. After a moment's thought, Zack picked Cloud up in a bridal carry. The bed would be more comfortable for him to sleep it off.

Zack laid Cloud down and pulled the covers over him. He checked the wound he'd left – the bleeding was sluggish at best, the deep bite marks beginning to heal already. Cloud would still be left with a very noticeable hickey for a while though.

"Zack," Cloud finally managed, fingers twitching limply as he tried to reach for Zack.

"It's okay. I'll get you some water, and you'll feel better after a good sleep.

Cloud apparently still had enough energy left to roll his eyes. "Wanted to say… thanks. That was hot."

"…You really are into this, huh?"

"You're hot too."

Zack snorted. "You're cute when you're out of it."

"Fuck me as well next time," Cloud mumbled.

Zack didn't even have a reply to that one – they definitely still needed to talk that over when Cloud was more aware. Which probably wouldn't be for a while; he was already asleep before Zack had had time to process the request.

Zack ruffled Cloud's hair and let him be, licking the blood from his lips at he left the bedroom.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Somehow this chapter ended up being a lot of talking, and not much else. It's starting to touch on things like world-building, which wasn't in original plan for this AU, lol. (I have so many headcanons for the background of this now, it's a little ridiculous and there's no way I can fit them all in.)

There definitely has to be at least a third chapter, because the whole point of this was to have some vampire smut and I haven't even managed that yet. Haha, whoops.;;

I also have _ideas_ about Sephiroth, Genesis and Angeal having roles in this AU. Okay, so it's less ideas about them having story-based roles and more ideas about how delicious it would be to have Cloud laid out on the bed, Zack fucking him, while the others hold him down and all feed from him at the same time. Cloud would be so turned on and so into it, it would be awesome. uwu

Dunno if that little scene will make an appearance in the story ever - it'd have to be several months later from the point we're at currently, and this wasn't even meant to be anything but a self-indulgent scribble I don't have shit like plot and chapters planned. But it's ~very~ nice to think about it anyway.

* * *

Cloud rolled over with a groan. His mouth was dry, body still feeling a little too heavy as he tried to shake off his deep sleep. He was in a bed, but it wasn't his own. Shit. Had he got drunk last night or something?

He buried his face into the pillows. The scent of them was familiar… Zack. They smelled like Zack. That was right. Cloud was in Zack's apartment, in Zack's bed. Zack who was his best friend and crush and also a vampire and—

Cloud gave a quiet moan as the recollection came flooding back. Zack had fed from him. And it had been amazing.

He bit his lip to try and hold back the stupid smile threatening to stretch across his face. Internally, he was squirming with absolute delight.

As pleased as he may have been, he was still feeling the consequences, at least a little. Some of the problems were easily rectified. Zack had left a glass of water for Cloud on the bedside table; Cloud propped himself up and drank greedily. It helped a lot with his dry mouth and headache.

He was starving as well, and the smell of something cooking wafting in from elsewhere in the apartment was more temptation than Cloud could bear.

He got out of bed slowly – there was a moment of dizziness as he stood, but it faded quickly. He wasn't too bad at all, really. As he was leaving the room, he caught sight of himself in one of Zack's mirrors.

Fuck. The sudden jolt of arousal hit him like a lightning bolt when he saw the deep purple mark left on his throat. Cloud stared at his reflection, fingers lifting to gingerly touch it.

The mark was mostly bruise – Zack hadn't just fed from him, he'd given him one hell of a hickey in the process. He could still see the indents where those fangs had pierced his flesh. They had healed over for most of the part, but the skin was shiny and pink and new where it had knitted back together. There was no trace of blood left on his skin, but it seemed a couple of drops had escaped far enough to stain the collar of his shirt.

Yeah, he looked like a vampire's victim, alright. Combine that with the decidedly rumpled clothes he'd slept in and the bedhead, and it make quite the picture of debauchery. It was just a shame he wasn't naked and covered in other kinds of marks all over his body too.

Cloud shook himself. This was ridiculous. He really needed to get a hold of his… his stupid crush, and his stupid vampire fetish or whatever the hell it was.

Fortunately, having been fed on already had sated his appetite at least somewhat. Thinking about it was still pleasantly arousing, but it wasn't driving him into the needy mess he'd been last night. He would be able to focus on the more important things first; talking to Zack – _properly_ talking – and getting something to eat. He really was starving.

Cloud padded across to the kitchen, growing a little more apprehensive with each step. Now he thought about it, he really had been acting quite embarrassingly. He didn't even know if Zack reciprocated the interest in him, apart from just wanting him for his blood.

His fears were quickly alleviated.

"Cloud!" Zack greeted as he entered the kitchen, with a warmth that make Cloud's heart ache. After last night, after making Zack so mad, he was worried he would lose the man's affection.

Cloud kept walking until he was behind Zack and rested his cheek on the back of Zack's shoulder. "Good morning," he mumbled.

Zack turned away from whatever he was working on at the stove so he could be face to face with Cloud. One of his hands settled on Cloud's hip, and the other lifted Cloud's face to scrutinise him. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay."

"Uh huh. You sure? You look a little pale still."

"Just tired, I guess. But I don't mind. It was so good…"

Zack chuckled. "Yeah, like I didn't notice how into it you were. But c'mon, sit down for a bit. We should get you some decent aftercare."

Zack turned the burners on the stove down. He guided Cloud to one of the chairs at the small kitchen table, hands lingering more than strictly necessary. He gave Cloud's hip a gentle squeeze before moving away again. He only went as far as the fridge, fishing out a few things he'd prepared earlier and setting them before Cloud.

There was a bowl full of melon chunks, and a glass of something liquid yet decidedly green. Cloud scrunched his nose up at the latter. "The hell is that?" he asked.

"Celery and spinach juice."

" _Why?_ "

Zack laughed at the expression on Cloud's face, but then he turned a little more sombre. He ran a hand through his hair. "I… took a bit more from you last night than I meant to. The juice should help replace some fluids, and it's got a lot of iron and vitamins and mineral salts you're gonna need. It's a trick regular feeders use, apparently, though I think it's meant to be for frequent incidents of minor blood loss in their case," Zack shrugged.

Cloud was not convinced, but he put aside the questionable juice to focus on another phrase that had suddenly caught his attention. "Feeders?"

Zack shifted his weight. "We can talk about that in a bit. Get started on that, I'm just about finished with the rest of breakfast."

Cloud was much more interested in the full fry-up that Zack was preparing, but he obligingly picked up a fork and started eating the melon. He was still wary about the juice, but a quick, reluctant sip established that it wasn't as bad as he had feared. Not _nice_ , but just about tolerable.

Regular feeders… between the title and what Zack had said, it seemed pretty self-explanatory. Someone who regularly provided blood for a vampire (vampires?) to feed from. Cloud hadn't even realised that was a thing, but the more he thought about it, the greater the appeal grew. Would Zack feed from him regularly? Cloud loved the idea of it; he kept picturing his whole body covered in bites, some fading out from a few days ago and some fresh and deep. Used. He wanted Zack to use him like that.

His face was starting to heat up at the idea. Irritated at himself, Cloud took a swig of the juice and made a face. It was hard to get too turned on when his mouth tasted of earth, at least.

Zack soon plated up their proper breakfast – scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, baked beans, the works – and joined Cloud at the table. Cloud dug in.

Better hydrated and with a warm meal in his belly, Cloud was soon feeling a lot better. In a way, nothing had changed. Hanging out and eating together, that was something they'd been doing as friends for a very long time. Only now Cloud didn't care if Zack caught him staring too long, getting lost looking into those mako-bright eyes. He ran his gaze over Zack, every so often being floored once again by how damn attractive the man was. And when Zack smiled…

Cloud had noticed before, of course, but he'd never thought anything of it. Canine teeth were meant to be kinda pointy, right? Although the sharpness of Zack's had always caused heat to curl through Cloud's gut when he saw them. All that time, yet he'd never honestly expected Zack to be a vampire.

But now Cloud saw those teeth flash when Zack smiled, and he knew they were _fangs_.

He swallowed hard and had to look away. It was making Cloud's pulse race, and he was getting embarrassingly flustered already. They needed to talk first, before he lost his focus, but Cloud didn't even know where to start.

Fortunately, Zack was willing to start instead, He shot Cloud a handsome, lopsided grin. "Feeling better?"

"Mm. A lot."

"Good. Food and rest help most; they'll help you recover your energy." Zack had already finished his breakfast, eating like a human vacuum like always. Or, not quite human, as it turned out. He kept talking while Cloud finished up his own meal. "I figure if this is gonna be a thing for you – and don't give me that look like you're embarrassed _now_ , you little minx, you know you fucking want it – you should know enough about how it works to take care of yourself."

"How it works?"

"Yeah. It's not just about taking blood from you. We – vampires, I mean – feed off life energy. Your body works the same way as the Planet; if there's a wound, life energy is redirected there to help it heal up. Right to where we can take it from you. And of course, the body just keeps sending more and more, for as long as we keep the wound open."

"Oh," Cloud said. He shivered a little. Fuck, he really shouldn't get off on it so much, but one of the (many) things that appealed to him was the idea of being so overwhelmed and overpowered that the vampire could just _devour_ him. His blood, his energy, his essence. Zack's explanation made the whole idea more alluring, not less.

"But," Zack continued, "that's not a bad thing. Your life energy will replenish a _lot_ faster than the body having to physically create more red blood cells. Any vampire with a lick of sense will maximise energy consumption while keeping the actual volume of blood consumed relatively low. Easier to keep feeding off the same person without harming them that way."

"Keep feeding off the same person… feeders?"

Zack huffed a laugh, giving Cloud a knowing look. "Yeah, I shoulda figured that's what you were interested in. There's not much more to it than that; just someone who willingly offers to feed a vampire, more often but in lesser amounts."

"Hn."

"What, why do you look disappointed?"

Cloud's face flushed – he hadn't meant it to be so obvious. "N-nothing! I just… kind of liked the way it felt when you took a lot. Light-headed, floaty…"

Helpless, at Zack's mercy, so easy to be taken advantage of. He didn't express those ones out loud though.

"Oh, you'll still get that. You feel like you've lost a lot more blood than you have, but it's actually energy you're losing the most of. Results in the same symptoms either way."

Cloud fell silent for a moment. Zack took the opportunity to collect up their plates and rinse them off. Cloud watched him work, finding himself once again in the frustrating situation of not having the nerve to simply say what was on his mind. Maybe if he asked indirectly…

"Do you have a feeder?"

Not stated but implied: 'gods, fuck, please let me do it, feed from me as much as you want'.

"No," Zack said, then paused. "Well, not as such."

"…not as such?"

"We'll have to discuss it later."

Cloud frowned. They'd already agreed they needed to talk, and now was the perfect opportunity. Why was Zack putting it off again?

"I'm supposed to be ready for duty in ten minutes."

Oh. _Oh_. Cloud was so used to seeing Zack just casually lounging around in his uniform that he hadn't thought anything of him wearing it in the morning too. But that meant… shit. Cloud had a job to get to as well, and he desperately needed to go back to his place first to shower and change. And hopefully find something to wear that would cover his throat; an old turtleneck maybe. All of that would take time.

Cloud glanced at the clock in alarm, but his panic lessened when he realised he still had an hour. Zack started earlier than him. Cloud supposed that was one benefit to the engineering department running nine to five hours.

He left the table and grabbed a tea towel, drying off the plates once Zack was done washing them.

"You can stay here for a while longer if you want, if you need a bit of space or time or anything," Zack offered. "You know how to lock the door behind you when you leave."

Cloud shook his head. "I need to get some clothes from mine before work, I should head out too."

With that mutual agreement, they parted ways to get their gear together before leaving. Cloud didn't have anything else with him aside from his shoes and wallet, but Zack needed to throw on his stomach guard, pauldrons and boots, as well as fetch his sword and materia.

"Zack—" Cloud tried. By the time he'd found his voice, they were already outside the apartment. Zack could walk Cloud at least as far as the elevators before they had to part ways.

"I'll be off by six, if you wanna come back round then."

"I will, but—I just need to know, before you go. You never said… the, uh, other aspect of what came up. Being more than friends. I don't even know if you _like_ me or if you're just humouring me, or if I'd just be useful as a feeder or what."

It wasn't as though he would _mind_ having a vampire just want to use him for his blood – but Zack wasn't just any vampire. Zack was Zack, and Cloud wanted to be with the man he'd been crushing on for so long as well.

There wasn't time to talk about it, and Zack seemed hesitant to address the issue. The elevator dinged open in front of them.

"Zack, please. If it's a no just fucking tell me."

Zack didn't answer. Instead, he took Cloud's face in his hands and leaned in, kissing Cloud firmly on the mouth.

Cloud moaned, knees going weak in an instant. Zack's kiss was hot and demanding, and Cloud hadn't been expecting it at all. Zack pressed Cloud back until he was up against the wall, like he knew how damn turned on Cloud got being pinned in that position. Not fair.

Cloud kissed back fervently, helpless to do anything but. Zack eased Cloud's lips apart, deepening the kiss. His hands tightened in Cloud's hair, holding him in place while his tongue ravaged Cloud's mouth.

Cloud could feel those fangs grazing at his bottom lip; Zack tugged gently at him with his teeth as he drew away, leaving Cloud panting and half-hard from just a kiss alone.

"O-oh. Okay," Cloud breathed.

"Come back to mine tonight, alright?" Zack's hands trailed down Cloud's sides, reaching his hips before reluctantly sliding off. He stepped into the elevator – he was going up, while Cloud needed to go down.

Cloud nodded. The elevator doors slid closed behind Zack, but even then Cloud stayed leaning against the wall for a moment longer to gather himself together. God _damn_.

The end of the workday couldn't possibly come fast enough.


	3. Chapter 3

Cloud visiting Zack's place once they were done for the day was something they did often; often enough that Cloud could time it down to the second, meeting Zack at the door right when he got home. They'd even made a game of it before. Cloud didn't do that this time, though. It seemed too presumptuous, given the circumstances.

Instead, Cloud had taken the time to swing by his own apartment after work, showering off the grime and grease that had come with working on an actual goddamn tank all day. He swapped his turtleneck back for something more exposed, eventually opting for a tight tank top. The sight of the mark on his throat still made his heart skip a beat every time he caught sight of it in his reflection.

He left it ten minutes after he knew Zack would be home before going and standing at the door. Cloud's stomach twisted, mixed worry and anticipation. He knocked.

Zack threw the door open, so quickly that Cloud had to wonder if he'd been standing on the other side waiting, and immediately pulled Cloud into a hug. A very long, tight hug.

"It's good to have you back," Zack sighed.

Cloud blinked, but smiled as he relaxed into Zack's embrace. "Well, duh. I said I'd come round this evening."

Zack squeezed his arms around Cloud briefly, face burying into Cloud's hair. Cloud realised then – Zack meant after all the time Cloud had been avoiding him, and he felt guilty about it all over again. He'd missed Zack too.

Zack drew Cloud into the apartment and closed the door behind them. Cloud kicked his shoes and socks off as he entered, and they collapsed next to each other on the sofa; their usual seats.

"You wanna game?" Zack offered. That was their thing, after all. Or it used to be. "Or we can just talk."

"We should talk." Cloud still had so many questions. Where did they even start? And in all honesty, Zack shouldn't have expected any other answer. There was still so much up in the air between them now.

This one thing hadn't changed, at least. It felt comfortable to sit together, so close their thighs were touching. A lot of the time when Cloud went round for games and shooting the shit, he ended up halfway in Zack's lap anyway. They slung arms around each other, got into each other's personal space to grab controllers or just mess around.

There was less of that playfulness now. But Zack took Cloud's hand, and Cloud leaned against Zack's shoulder, and at least being so close still felt very right. Cloud didn't exactly have to worry about Zack finding out about his crush anymore either.

"Okay," Zack said. "How was your day?"

Cloud snorted. "Really? After everything, you feeding on me, that kiss this morning… you're gonna go with 'how was your day'?"

"Heck yeah, I am. Because you're special to me and I care about how you're doing."

Okay, he had to give Zack that one. That charming smile was impossible to resist. But then – Cloud was 'special' to him, Zack had said. What did that even mean?

"Zack… about earlier. You never really answered the question. I mean, I—I guess you at least like me back." There was no way Zack would have kissed him that intensely otherwise. "But what does that make us now? Boyfriends? Mutual idiots who are into each other but too terrified to do anything about it? 'Cause I'm pretty familiar with the latter."

Zack laughed, but he sobered again pretty quickly. He went quiet, seeming reluctant to respond. And that was the problem. Every time Cloud tried to hint at that question, Zack avoided giving him a direct answer. If it wasn't immediately a yes… it was probably a no.

Fuck. What was he meant to do? He couldn't be just friends with Zack; he was in too deep for that. He couldn't just be a goddamn feeder for exactly the same reason. He wanted _more_ than just that. He wanted all of Zack. If he couldn't… it would hurt more than he could bear to be around Zack after that, soul aching with thoughts of what might have been but never would be.

"Cloud," Zack said softly. Cloud's thoughts must have clear on his face, expression heartbroken. Zack touched Cloud's face, hurt mirroring in his own eyes when he saw Cloud in pain. "Look, I want you, believe me. I would love to be your boyfriend. But there's… already another relationship I'm in right now."

Cloud felt bitterness rise like bile in his throat. " _What?"_ Zack had never even mentioned—fuck. How could Cloud have been so stupid?!

Zack grabbed Cloud by the shoulders to stop him pulling away. "Hey, listen. It's not serious – more like a friends with benefits arrangement. But 'friends' being the key word. I would never, _never_ just drop you with no notice, no matter what we had going on. And I wouldn't do that to any other friend either."

Loyal to a fault. And Cloud couldn't even hate him for it, because Zack was right.

"I can talk about it with them. Stay friends but drop the benefits, if it bothers you. If you… I mean, if feeding from you became a regular thing, I might not need what I have there so much."

Cloud's eyebrows creased together in confusion. "What does feeding have to do with it?"

"They're vampires too."

" _Oh_."

Zack ran his hand through his hair. "It's a huge pain to get blood here. I can't ask anyone affiliated with the company or even who might recognise me – it was super against the rules for me to tell you too, but I trusted you and thought you deserved to know."

And Cloud had reacted so terribly. No wonder Zack had been so mad… and so afraid. Cloud could have ruined everything.

"ShinRa is near obsessive about keeping it a secret. They're supposed to be the 'good guys' fighting vampires, they're not willing to lose the public's confidence revealing that they've got vampires _working_ for them." Zack rolled his eyes – he clearly didn't think much of ShinRa's policies there. "We've got guys in the Science Department who'll sometimes give us bags of blood donations, but… remember what I said about the life energy? Blood bags are ridiculously inefficient. Whatever energy they might have had has mostly dissipated by the time it gets to us."

"So, the other vampires…"

"We feed off each other. Well, it's mostly a case of whoever has fed well recently and has the most energy donates some of that, to take the edge off for whoever's not so lucky."

"Is that the 'benefit' part of the relationship?"

Zack shook his head, expression apologetic, as though he wished more than anything he could tell Cloud what he wanted to hear. But it would be a lie. "No, it's not just that. The more traditional benefit of friends with benefits is involved too."

Cloud stayed very quiet. Although he didn't shy away from Zack physically, it was obvious he was withdrawing back into his shell.

Zack gently touched his face, trying to bring him back. "Cloud. Hey."

"Is it good?" Cloud asked.

"Huh?"

"Being with a vampire. Do you feed off each other and fuck at the same time?"

Zack choked back a quiet laugh. "Are you jealous, or are you fantasising about it?"

"I'm not sure myself," Cloud mumbled.

"Well, yeah. It's good. I mean, for us, blood is like food, right? A source of sustenance. And in most circumstances you just eat your food and think nothing of it. But, in the right situation…"

Zack shifted Cloud on the sofa, guiding him so he was halfway towards straddling Cloud's lap. His hands wandered up Cloud's sides. "The right situation, the right person, the right mood…" he continued. There was the start of a purr lacing his voice.

"You can make something quite sensual out of feeding a lover, right?" Zack said. He cupped Cloud's face, his thumb caressing Cloud's cheekbone. He leaned in as though he was going to kiss Cloud, but never quite made contact. Cloud could feel Zack's breath, soft and warm against his lips. He was drawn in despite himself.

"Feeding can be pleasurable for us too, if we want to do it that way."

"Zack," Cloud said, his voice coming out more rough and strained than he'd intended. "Please be aware that you _cannot talk about that shit_ , especially while blatantly flirting with me, and not expect me to start getting turned on."

Zack chuckled like that was exactly what he'd intended all along. He brushed Cloud's bangs aside and rested their foreheads together. "Gotta say, I really liked feeding off you last night… you taste so good, Cloud."

Now he was definitely doing it on fucking purpose. Cloud bit his lip, trying not to give in. But Zack was right there, holding him, their faces so close together; it only took the tiniest tilt of Cloud's head, and then he was kissing Zack again.

Zack tasted damn good too. Cloud kissed him; soft, romantic kisses at first, but quickly growing more needy.

"Cloud," Zack said lowly, warningly. As if he wasn't kissing Cloud back just as much. "We shouldn't go further unless you're okay with this."

"I'm so okay with doing everything with you."

"I mean relationship-wise. Even knowing about the other open relationship…"

Cloud reluctantly stopped his kisses. "Will they mind you having a boyfriend too?"

"I doubt it," Zack said. "I, uh, might have mentioned you to them. A lot. Pretty sure they figured out I was into you way before I did. At one point I was told I either needed to go out and bang you, or just shut the fuck up. Gen's words."

The name didn't mean anything to Cloud. Of more concern; "why would you tell them about me?!"

"Because you're cute as hell and my best friend?" At least Zack actually looked a little sheepish. "Sorry if that's weird. I just have a bad habit of gushing about you sometimes."

It was a bit embarrassing – Cloud dreaded to think what Zack could have been saying about him – but it was kind of flattering as well. That he meant that much to Zack.

"So, I'm pretty sure they'd be okay with us hooking up," Zack concluded. "I'm more worried about you."

"I…" Cloud glanced away. He couldn't think about it while looking at Zack – all it would take was one moment of getting lost in Zack's eyes, one of those handsome, crooked smiles, and Cloud knew he would decide in an instant that nothing else mattered apart from being with him. Then again, that was exactly what he ended up thinking either way.

"Will you tell me?" Cloud asked. "When you go to see them, how things are? I think… I could work with it. Just, as long as you're honest about it with me. And you're happy."

"I would never lie about it or keep anything from you," Zack promised. And Cloud believed him. He'd already taken a huge leap of faith telling Cloud about being a vampire, after all, and Cloud was only just starting to comprehend the magnitude of consequences that action could have had.

He didn't really know how to express his gratitude, so he simply leaned in and kissed Zack again.

He let his weight sink against Zack's chest as they kissed, and Zack's hand between Cloud's shoulder blades pulled him even closer. Cloud still had questions – even more questions than before, now – but he'd had enough of talking for the time being. He just wanted Zack.

Zack chuckled under his breath. Cloud's kisses were so sweet and insistent; it was cute. Although that sweetness was rapidly growing into heat.

Cloud tangled a hand into Zack's hair. His lips parted eagerly, allowing Zack to deepen the kiss. Cloud quickly ended up with his tongue in Zack's mouth too; memorising his addictive taste, mapping out the curve of his fangs. Cloud groaned at that. _Gods_. Just feeling those fangs there sent a shiver of lust through him.

"Zack…"

"Mm. Wanna go make out on the bed?"

Cloud laughed, a little breathlessly. Fuck yes, he did. Zack bodily lifted Cloud up, and Cloud gasped and wrapped his legs around Zack's waist.

"Ugh. Did I ever mention how hot it is when you pick me up and throw me around?" Cloud said, in between pressing more kisses to Zack's face.

"Oh?" Zack got a wicked glint in his eyes, and when they reached the bedroom he did exactly as Cloud had said. He tossed him down onto the bed, hard enough that Cloud bounced for a moment, until Zack surged over him and pinned him down. "Like this?" Zack purred.

Exactly like that. Cloud's cock bucked, rapidly hardening within the confines of his pants. And there was no way Zack didn't feel it, his weight bearing down on Cloud and hips settling between Cloud's legs. Cloud moaned. Zack was hard as well.

"Can I touch you?" Zack asked.

" _Please_." Cloud would have been incredibly frustrated if Zack _didn't_ touch him at that point, but thankfully Zack seemed to be every bit as eager. His hands slid down the back of Cloud's pants, squeezing his ass.

Cloud's hands wandered as well. He hooked his fingers beneath Zack's shirt and pulled it off, while Zack undid Cloud's fly and removed his trousers. Cloud was left in just his boxers and tank top pushed up to his chest, spread out beneath Zack.

They kissed again, deep and heated. Zack's fangs grazed Cloud's lower lip.

"Zack," Cloud moaned. "Will you…. mm, please feed off me again?"

Zack let out a shuddering breath, his eyes dark as he gazed down at Cloud. "Believe me, I'd love to. But you haven't recovered fully; we shouldn't."

"Doesn't have to be deep, you don't have to feed a lot; just, please, even if nothing else, just _bite me_." His words came out too fast, slurred together with want. He felt like he was being dragged under beneath his own building arousal, pressure and heat churning inside him until he was trembling. His mind was full of nothing but Zack.

From the look in Zack's eyes, he shared the sentiment. His grip on Cloud tightened, rough with warning. "You are far too tempting to be saying things like that," he said darkly.

Cloud shot him a glazed smile. "I'll take my chances with the consequences."

Zack growled. The sound of it raised goosebumps on Cloud's skin. Zack grabbed Cloud's ankle and yanked it, hooking Cloud's leg over his shoulder. He kissed the back of Cloud's knee, then lower.

The back of Cloud's hand flew up, covering his mouth. Zack wasn't biting him, not in anything more than stinging little nips, but Cloud would feel those fangs against his sensitive inner thigh, and _shit_. He bit into his own hand, trying to muffle the embarrassingly helpless little noises he was making.

The amount that Zack turned him on was just unfair.

As if that wasn't enough, Zack's other hand slipped beneath the waistband of Cloud's boxers. Cloud hips jerked up as Zack wrapped his fingers around Cloud's cock. "Zack!" Cloud cried.

Zack had a goal now, it seemed, and he pursued it with reckless determination. He stroked Cloud's erection until Cloud was a writhing mess beneath him. Quick and tight, calloused fingers working Cloud to the edge. Not that he needed much help getting there.

He watched Cloud intently. Cloud looked so fucking gorgeous, face flushed and lost in pleasure…. Zack's hips rolled, trying to get a bit of friction to his own aching cock. He'd take care of that later. For the time being, he watched, waiting for the perfect moment.

Right when Cloud was there; panting, writhing, so close. Zack gave him a heated grin and sank his fangs into the soft, sensitive flesh of his inner thigh.

The noise Cloud made was delicious. It was shock, pleasure, need, all rolled together. It sounded like pure sex.

The taste of his blood flooded Zack's mouth. Even as he curled his tongue against the wound, Zack kept jerking Cloud off, loving the glazed, desperate look in his eyes. The combined stimulation was too much – with a cry and an arch of his back, Cloud came over Zack's hand.

Zack leaned up and kissed him, sharing the taste of Cloud's own blood with him.

Cloud moaned into Zack's mouth. It was so good. The taste, the feel of Zack's fangs, the shivering aftershocks of his orgasm. Running more on autopilot than conscious thought, Cloud's hands slid down over the tight muscle of Zack's abs and down to the waistband of his trousers, clumsily undoing them and drawing out Zack's arousal.

Zack's mouth marked a hot, wet trail down Cloud's throat, burying in the crook of his neck. Gentler this time, he bit down again.

Cloud moaned softly. His head tilted back, allowing Zack access. Zack's cock was hard and heavy in Cloud's hand as he returned the favour of jerking him off, and Zack's mouth so warm where his lips and tongue worked against Cloud's skin. It felt heavenly.

Cloud felt it in the tension of Zack's body when he came, and in the vibrations of Zack's low growl against Cloud's throat.

"Damn," Zack panted.

He gave a few last, lingering licks to the new mark he'd left on Cloud's throat; it wasn't deep, this time, and the mako-laced saliva was already starting to repair the damage enough to slow the bleeding. Cloud sighed deeply.

Zack kissed Cloud on the lips again, tenderly now, as they both came down from their highs.

Cloud grinned against Zack's mouth. As his brain function started to return, he began to realise exactly what had just happened. And he was damn near ecstatic about it. Even if he hadn't got laid, he'd had an orgasm at Zack's hand, bites included. And Zack had said he wanted Cloud as his boyfriend, his other open relationship notwithstanding.

Zack knocked his forehead against Cloud's, and they ended up laughing quietly together for no real reason. Just basking in the closeness, and the intimate quiet. Or what was an intimate quiet, until Zack's stomach interrupted.

Cloud snorted a laugh.

"Hush, you. I haven't eaten yet," Zack said.

"Apart from me, you mean."

Zack attacked Cloud's side with tickles in retribution for such sass, until Cloud was laughing and squirming. "As tasty as you are, I need normal people food too. Wanna do pizza?"

"Pizza sounds fucking awesome," Cloud sighed happily.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** This fic is such a mess. Multichapters are not my forte, and certainly not entirely unplanned ones. Because this is what happens; an entire freakin' chapter that is nothing but exposition, and then the next chapter is nothing but smut. What the heck is a 'balanced narrative'?

But yeah. This chapter is the one where a lot more of the world-building details start to show up. So there's that, lol.

* * *

Zack called during Cloud's lunch break the next day. It was not the most coherent of conversations, since Zack started by apologising profusely without even explaining why.

"—and I know it's such a pain, I really wanted to hang out with you more as soon as possible, but it's just this thing's come up, and I'm sorry, I swear. I'll make it up to you when I get back, but they don't even know how long—"

" _Zack_ ," Cloud had interrupted. "Just tell me what's going on."

Nothing worthy of such a tirade, that was for sure. Zack just had a mission out of town, and would be gone for at least one or two nights. It was unfortunate timing, because that would take it into the weekend and Cloud had really wanted to spend more time talking with Zack and getting some answers. But it was hardly the first time Zack had been sent off, and it wouldn't be the last. At least it wasn't weeks this time.

The fact Zack had been making such a big deal out of it actually helped Cloud handle it better. It kind of stung that Zack was leaving so soon, even though Cloud knew full well it wasn't his fault. Zack complaining about being tempted just to ditch the mission made Cloud laugh and put things into perspective. It was Zack's damn job, and he had told Zack as much.

"I'm not going anywhere, moron. I'll be here when you get back."

Zack shipped out before Cloud finished work, so Cloud had just gone home to his own place. It felt a little weird – Friday nights had almost always been the one time he put aside to see Zack, no matter how busy the rest of the week had been. It was quiet without him.

Cloud hardly minded quiet. He would've killed for it back in his army days. But with quiet came the unfortunate habit for his brain to overthink.

Around Zack, everything seemed so straightforward. Cloud felt like Zack would always have his back, no matter what. So even if he didn't know all the answers right then, between himself and Zack they'd solve any problem the world threw at him. He didn't know everything about what being a vampire meant, but Zack did, and he knew Zack would tell him, piece by piece between games and food and kisses. Or more.

The longer Cloud was without Zack's reassuring presence, the more he began to doubt.

He _didn't_ know what being a vampire meant; he'd barely scratched the surface. Sure, he knew a whole fucking lot thanks to his little obsession, but that was about fictional shit. His interest had previously only been an idea. Maybe something to turn into an incredibly hot roleplay with a lover. When it came to the reality of it, he was suddenly in over his head.

That was another thing. The sort of thing that made Cloud lie in bed and pull the pillow over his head, wishing he could smother his embarrassment out. It was one thing to have a fetish centred around a fictional concept, but if they _weren't_ fictional after all—there were real people who were vampires and Cloud had just fetishized the shit out of them as a group without even knowing— _gods_. He felt like the stupidest, most thoughtless pile of shit on the planet.

Worst of all was he hadn't even changed; he still thought of Zack, Zack's fangs, how it felt when they grazed against Cloud's skin, and he still got as turned on as ever. Fuck.

Cloud rolled over aggressively, burying himself into the covers as if he could make himself disappear. He needed to stop thinking about it. There was nothing he could do about his actions thus far; all he could do was try to do a lot better in the future.

With nothing else to do on a Friday night at such short notice - and never having been much of one to go out anyway - Cloud had ended up staying in and going to bed early. He was regretting that course of action now, because it only resulted in longer to lay awake while his brain replayed '101 moments you hideously embarrassed yourself and made everyone hate you'.

"Fuck you too, brain," Cloud mumbled into the pillow.

But maybe even that was better than the other worry that gnawed at his gut. Because then, on top of all that, there were the others. The other vampires who Zack was with. He didn't even know how many, just that Zack seemed to have been talking in the plural.

He wasn't going to judge. There had been a guy in his old unit who had a polyamorous relationship; they'd all been privy to that development, whether they'd liked it or not. Things hadn't been working out between him and his girlfriend – they were so in love, but working for ShinRa just didn't leave enough time for him to see her as often as she needed him to. Feeling shitty as hell but understanding, he'd actually helped her set up other dates, one of which was with a good friend of his. They'd hit it off. But rather than ending things and moving on with the new relationship, they'd come to an agreement to make it work with all three of them.

Most of the unit had given the guy tons of shit for it, assuming the girl was just with this new dude and keeping him hanging around for fun. But Cloud admired him. He'd fought tooth and nail for that relationship, and he'd ended up with something that worked for all parties involved. Cloud could tell he was so much happier after it all got sorted.

So, no. It didn't bother Cloud that Zack had other lovers. But… he wanted to meet them, at least. Be on good terms with each other, be friends. Maybe they wouldn't ever hit it off as anything more, but that was okay. To Cloud, it felt important to know about the other people who played such a significant role in Zack's life.

He'd talk to Zack about it when he got back. Maybe then he could shake his vague feeling of unease about the whole thing.

It was a plan; or the start of one, at least.

That just left one last burning question in Cloud's mind. Or perhaps not so much a question as an entire topic. Everything about vampires, Cloud wanted to know. Had Zack always been a vampire, or had he become one somehow? How did that work? He clearly didn't have a problem going out in the sunlight or eating garlic, where all those myths just bullshit? Was his enhanced strength and speed anything to do with being a vampire, or was that just from having been in SOLDIER before? What did ShinRa know about vampires, and what was their beef with them? What about the supposed 'vampire threat' Zack – and others, Cloud presumed – got sent out to combat occasionally?

It was fucking exhausting just thinking about it. He couldn't even blame Zack for not having told him – there was so much Cloud needed to know, it would take forever to talk it through. They'd do it, though, piece by piece.

Of course, Cloud couldn't get any direct answers until Zack got back. But, he wondered… a lot of stuff out there was just the cycle of movies and books regurgitating the latest trendy incarnation of vampire lore, but Cloud knew of one or two places that might have some more relevant information. If he got a feel for what to expect, it might make that conversation with Zack faster and less one-sided. If nothing else, they could laugh over how wrong everyone was.

Yeah, he decided. He'd do that tomorrow.

By the time Cloud's brain had finally stopped overthinking enough to let him sleep, it was already the early hours of the morning. That was probably the reason why he woke up a lot later than he'd intended the following day.

Cloud blearily informed his alarm clock that it was a piece of shit (though, of course, he was the one who had set it specifically not to go off on the weekends). After a quick bowl of cereal, a shower and getting dressed, Cloud headed out to the station.

Did he _need_ to go to the library to do his research? No. He had a laptop and a phone that both would have been entirely capable, but… Zack had him getting paranoid. Cloud was absolutely not meant to know about the whole vampire thing, and he could get Zack in serious shit if anyone found out he had told Cloud.

He knew it was stupid. What were the chances anyone was gonna be checking his internet activity? Sure, his wifi was provided by ShinRa - a bonus they provided alongside the subsidised apartments they offered to their staff (it was the only way any of the lower level workers could afford to live above the Plate). That didn't mean ShinRa was watching all the information that went through the network.

Whatever. It was nice to go out somewhere on his day off anyway.

Cloud hadn't been to the library in a long time; it was pleasant to watch the familiar building roll into sight as the train approached. It really had been years.

When Cloud had first arrived in Midgar and joined the army, he'd never intended to stay there. His goal was SOLDIER. But he failed his first attempt to get in, and before he had a second chance the whole SOLDIER project was shut down. He drifted for a bit; to the logistics department first, then the engineering corps.

That was when he'd sought solace in the library; they were provided with basic training, of course, but Cloud had found a love in working with mechanics, and wanted to devour far more information than the army provided. He'd finally found something he excelled at. And excelled enough that he'd been picked out for an internship in the ShinRa's general engineering department.

He'd been working in the engineering department since. Instead of just maintaining the equipment the military used, Cloud now got to play with anything from cutting-edge robotics to the mako reactors. As well as a few side projects of his own.

Although it had been a while, not much had changed. Cloud found himself drifting fondly to the non-fiction section; in particular, the shelves that housed the library's books on mechanics. And of more immediate concern, the small study room behind that section that also housed a pair of computers for library patrons to use.

The room was empty, as Cloud had been counting on. Being small and out of the way, a lot of people didn't know about it, or perhaps simply couldn't be bothered to go all the way up to the third floor just to sit in a glorified cupboard to study.

Cloud slid into the computer seat and logged on.

The first thing he wanted to check was ShinRa's official stance. Zack had said they viewed vampires as the 'bad guys' – why? They kept Zack employed, what was the difference between him and anyone else?

There was nothing on ShinRa's own site. Just a generic statement about protecting the population from monsters, environmental disasters, and other threats.

Searching specifically for news articles featuring 'ShinRa' and 'vampire' as keywords turned out to be a little more useful. The oldest article was from five years ago, asking for ShinRa's comment on a sudden surge in attacks in Midgar that were being attributed to vampires. The PR spokesman denied there being any such thing as vampires, suggesting instead that these were simply another vaguely humanoid monster that panicked victims were mistaking as something else. ShinRa would protect, as always.

Cloud noted the date down. Surge of vampire attacks – that could be relevant to something.

The newer articles didn't seem to have anything of relevance. Cloud skim-read through a few; the only difference seemed to be that, over time, the PR department had picked up the public's colloquial term, and now used 'vampire' themselves as a word to refer to the sort of monsters that preferred to kill by ripping their victims throat out with their teeth.

Attacks dropped to a steady rate, no more than any other kind of monster (human or otherwise) around, and the idea mostly faded from the public consciousness.

Next line of enquiry, then. What were these supposed 'vampire' monsters? 'Cause they sure didn't sound a damn thing like Zack. Or any of the types of vampires generally popularised by the media. (Cloud knew a lot about those ones – ahem.) In fact, the monster thing was new; Cloud couldn't really find any mention of it at all anywhere between really old myths and then the reports starting five years ago.

Hesitantly, Cloud checked some of his old forum haunts. The awkward, hideously embarrassing forum haunts. That was… ahh. Cloud swallowed. A few minutes of clicking around turned into almost half an hour, but he determined one thing; that was nothing with any actual news there, that was for sure. These were the kind of vampires he was more familiar with. There were written stories, stills taken from movies, art of various characters, nothing more than that.

He could feel his face heating up, though. Just some of those picture, fangs sinking into flesh, seeing the blood well up beneath them… Fuck. Why was he _like_ this?!

Cloud quickly clicked away, glancing behind him even though he was alone in the room. A whole fucking decade and he still hadn't escaped his embarrassing vampire phase. And probably wasn't ever going to now.

 _Anyway_. There was one last site he particularly wanted to check – the reason he'd been so particular about not doing this anywhere he could be traced to. AVALANCHE. It was just a conspiracy theory website, but it had proven correct before. Namely, when SOLDIER had been shut down.

Cloud had been desperate for information. Of course he had been, his dream had just been fucking shattered. And on ShinRa's end was nothing but radio silence. For literally months. All that had been issued was a generic statement about SOLDIER no longer running, but other departments being fully functional and ready to defend Midgar as much as ever.

So Cloud had turned to other places. Rumours had been rife, of course. But AVALANCHE was the one place that had come out with a statement and stuck to it, claiming there had been a mass desertion. Another year later, Cloud met Zack, an ex-SOLDIER, and that was confirmed to be true. Though even then, no one knew the reason for the mass desertion. Zack hadn't elaborated beyond a tight-lipped; "ShinRa was doing some fucked up shit. They were right to get out."

Of course, the problem was, AVALANCHE was incredibly anti-ShinRa. Even though he wanted nothing to do with the rest of the organisation, just flicking through their 'news' page could get him in serious shit. Especially since he worked with goddamn mako reactors.

Best just find what he needed and get out.

He searched their archives for vampire stories and theories. Every hit was within the last five years; nothing older than that. That matched up to the other date Cloud had got, claiming a surge of vampire attacks around then.

The predominant theory AVALANCHE put forward was that ShinRa themselves were involved. The timing was almost too coincidental… the vampire attacks started almost exactly the same time SOLDIER was shut down. The one group of elite fighters who would be able to handle monsters like that, gone right when they were needed.

The hair on the back of Cloud's neck stood on end. He hadn't even realised… he had been so preoccupied by everything going on with SOLDIER that he had barely registered the whole vampire/monster thing at the time, something that was fairly unusual for him. Normally just the mention of vampires made him sit up and pay attention, but having his life goal destroyed before his eyes had put a bit of a dampener on his enthusiasm for things at that point in time.

He hadn't realised those events had been so close…

AVALANCE often stipulated that monsters in general were caused by exposure to mako. The feral ones had those mutations, those distinctive eyes. These vampires were monsters, but so much more humanoid. Were they too the product of mako exposure and mutation, but on people?

The SOLDIER process involved using mako as an enhancement agent, Cloud knew that much. What if it had… gone wrong somehow, for some of them?

For all of them?

"Zack…"

Cloud had enough information. His blood felt like it was running cold, and he was cursing himself for doing this at a time when Zack wasn't around. Because oh, boy, did he have questions now. Even if it was just a yes or a no answer, he needed to know. Was there a link with SOLDIER?

If there was… Cloud wondered about Zack's other lovers, the other vampires; had they been SOLDIERs once as well? Why were some like Zack, still human, while others had become monsters?

Cloud logged off the computer, his history automatically erased by the system.

The wait for Zack to get back was going to be torture.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Here we go. Now _this_ is the kind of vampire smut I was aiming to get out of this fic. The last chapter was nothing but exposition, this chapter is pretty much nothing but smut. Look, I write porn, not well-planned multichapters. ;;;

* * *

Zack didn't get home on Sunday, as had been the original prediction. He didn't get home on Monday either.

The longer Zack's mission overran, the less Cloud cared about getting answers about his research and theories. The burning want for information became less about vampire lore, and more for the simple knowledge that Zack was okay.

Of course Zack was fine, Cloud told himself. He'd been on missions that overran before, he used to be in SOLDIER, he could take care of himself. Still, the worry gnawed at Cloud's gut as he packed up for the end of another workday. Tuesday evening, and no word from Zack still.

He headed home, showered, and threw a one-person meal in the microwave. He didn't have the heart to cook. He didn't even bother with a plate, just eating the meal straight out of its plastic container. Normally Cloud liked a bit of space every now and again, but this time the silence was just stifling.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when his PHS buzzed loudly. _Zack_.

Cloud knew he was jumping to conclusions, but it turned out to be justified. Honestly, Zack was the only one who messaged him anyway.

'Are you home?' the message read.

'Yeah,' Cloud sent back, spirits lifting in an instant. 'Did you get back from your mission?'

'I need you. Can I come over?'

Cloud stared at the message on the screen, eyes widening a little and face heating up. That was quick. Did Zack mean—? Cloud couldn't tell. If Zack had just got back from what had ended up being a longer than expected mission, he might be pretty hungry, right? It was probably Cloud's blood that he needed. Not… anything more sexual. Or maybe it was both.

It didn't matter anyway. Cloud was so down for both. Whatever Zack needed.

'Always,' Cloud said.

There were no more replies after that. Five intensely anticipation-fuelled minutes later, the knock on the door came, and Cloud nearly jumped off the couch to answer.

"Zack—"

"Hey, Cloud." Zack didn't swoop in to hug Cloud, like he normally might have. He held back, too tense. His smile was strained and eyes dark.

Cloud had seen him like this before. Not very often at all, but on a couple of occasions when he'd caught Zack right after a mission that had been tough or gone on too long. Zack had never let himself stay long around Cloud in those moments. But Cloud had seen enough that he could recognise it in the way Zack moved; jerky, exaggerated movements. too powerful in one moment then pulling back the next. On edge. There was a darkness in Zack's eyes that Cloud rarely ever saw.

He understood what that darkness was now. Hunger.

Cloud's stomach flipped. The instinctive response was fear, because that was the gaze of a predator with every intention of devouring him. But the more overpowering response was arousal, because Cloud would enjoy every moment of it.

The door shut behind them.

"H-how did the mission go?" Cloud said, at least making an attempt at conversation.

Zack chuckled darkly. "Shit show."

Cloud kind of figured. There was—oh. There was a gash on Zack's arm, a fucking massive one. It was partially healed, mostly pink shiny new skin now, but just the fact that it hadn't completely healed was a cause for concern. Zack still had all the enhancements of a SOLDIER, it should've been all fixed up by now.

Cloud reached out and touched Zack's arm in concern, fingertips lightly skirting the edge of the wound. "You're hurt."

"Got on the wrong end of a behemoth horn. S'fine. It'll heal."

"But it hasn't yet…"

"Healing takes a lotta energy."

And Zack was running low. Cloud nodded in understanding. "You need more, right? Feed from me."

Cloud saw the way Zack's expression flickered, bordering on something feral. As if the permission was all he'd been waiting for, he grasped Cloud's hips and span him round, shoving Cloud with his back against the closed door. One hand crept up to wrap around Cloud's throat, forcing Cloud's head up.

The sudden move had Cloud's pulse racing in an instant, breath growing heavy and erratic already. Zack was so close, pressing against Cloud's body, and that _look_ in his eyes… Cloud had to look away. He was starting to get embarrassingly turned on from just that much.

"Cloud," Zack murmured, demandingly. "Look at me."

Cloud swallowed thickly, but did as he was told. The heat in Zack's eyes, want, need, desire… all of that for Cloud. Gods.

"I want more than just your blood right now," Zack growled. "I want all of you."

Cloud discovered the second fantastic thing about Zack pining him against the wall. (The first being that it was simply fucking hot as hell). It meant that he had something to lean his weight against when Zack said things like _that_ that made Cloud go weak at the knees.

"E-everything. Anything. Take me however you need," Cloud pleaded.

Zack held Cloud trapped in that piercing, hypnotic gaze for a moment longer, then dove in to kiss him. The kiss was almost violent in its desperation, deep and passionate and bruising. Zack's fangs cut open Cloud's lip, warm blood spilling into both their mouths.

Cloud moaned. Zack's tongue invaded his mouth, lapping up the blood. The pleasure caused as it curled against Cloud was secondary, but the combination of sensations was more than enough to make Cloud tremble.

His hips rolled against Zack's. Gods, it was embarrassing how quickly this got him going. All it took from Zack was a little rough treatment, the taste of blood, and Cloud was reduced to a needy mess for him. But from the feel of Zack's hips pressed against his, Zack was getting hard as well.

A hand slid beneath the waistband of Cloud's pants, feeling up Cloud's ass as they made out.

"Nngh, Zack," Cloud sighed. "Do you wanna…? I mean, I have lube in the bedroom…"

Zack gave a low rumble of a laugh. "Sounds good."

He didn't seem quite so out of it now, as if those first few mouthfuls of blood had taken the edge off. It was more playfully rough, the way he dragged Cloud to bed with him. They both kicked off shoes and socks as they went, and Cloud ended up shirtless as well by the time he was laid out beneath Zack.

Eyes glinting with mischief, Zack leaned up to Cloud's ear and lowly commanded him to stay right where he was. A moment later, the whole bed shifted forward a good few inches, and Cloud sat up in alarm. Zack only laughed and crawled back up Cloud's body, laying him down again.

Cloud forgot all about it when Zack resumed kissing him. His tongue laved over the gash he had left on Cloud's lip, still bleeding sluggishly.

Zack took Cloud's face between his hands, kissing him over and over. "Mm. I'm never gonna get tired of tasting you," he murmured between kisses.

Cloud just tangled his hands into Zack's hair, dragging him in even closer. He said exactly the same thing in return, with the heat of his kiss instead of words.

He was thoroughly distracted. Zack' tongue was in his mouth, and Cloud's tongue in Zack's, and the way Zack was touching him kept sending little shivers of need to his cock. It was delicious.

So Cloud didn't really notice as Zack's hands covered his own, drawing them away from Zack and roughly pining them above Cloud's head. He only paid attention when something thick and leather tightened around them.

"Huh…?" Cloud tilted his head back to see. Zack had taken off his belt and used it to tie Cloud's wrists, around one of the bars of Cloud's headboard. So _that_ was why he'd pulled the bed away from the wall, to make room for Cloud's hands.

"Alright?"

Cloud nodded vigorously. He flexed his wrists against the restraint – that wasn't going anywhere. But he didn't mind. Gods, he didn't mind. It just left him spread out and helpless, at Zack's mercy, and that was something he found arousing as hell.

He shivered as Zack's hands ghosted down his sides. "Mm! Zack, please."

Zack looked up at Cloud, and there was that touch of darkness in his expression again. Just for a moment. "Gaia, I want you so bad."

Cloud's cock twitched. He wanted that too. Without the use of his hands, all Cloud could do was raise his hips obligingly, silently begging for Zack to finish undressing him.

Zack barely bothered undoing Cloud's fly before yanking his trousers and boxers off in one movement. Cloud gave a small yelp—naked. He was naked, with Zack looming over him with a heated grin. Fangs and all.

"You said something about lube?"

It took Cloud a second to remember how to speak. "Top drawer," he gasped.

Cloud tried to use the brief moment of reprieve to calm himself down, but all he could think about was what Zack was about to do once he got that lube, and it wasn't helping at all. His face was flushed, cock hard and exposed, and Cloud only squirmed more in anticipation. His licked his lips, tasting the traces of blood there still.

The bed shifted with Zack's weight as he returned with the lube, and Cloud eagerly spread his legs to let Zack settle between them.

Zack kissed Cloud hotly again, then his mouth worked its way lower. Cloud didn't think he was ever going to get over how damn responsive he was, immediately trembling at the feel of the sharp points of Zack's fangs grazing across his overheated skin. The bites didn't draw blood, but were deep enough still to leave marks. Cloud squirmed beneath them.

Zack skirted around Cloud's hip, instead settling his mouth on Cloud's inner thigh and set about marking the pale skin with hickeys. At the same time, his slicked fingers pressed against Cloud's entrance.

"Zack!"

"I want in you," Zack growled, and Cloud's cock twitched in response. He had to bite his lip to stop from moaning.

Cloud could tell Zack was getting impatient and needy again, the brief satisfaction of the blood he'd got from their kiss quickly fading out into that relentless hunger. His grip on Cloud was getting tighter and more possessive; the bites to Cloud's sensitive inner thighs stung, dangerously close to drawing blood again. He stretched Cloud open with two fingers, pumping them in and out until Cloud's hole was slick with spread lube.

Cloud was left arching helplessly, his hands pulling futilely against their restraints. Zack's urgency was infectious. Some small, sensible part of his mind might have reminded him a little more prep wouldn't be a bad idea and that they should probably take it a bit slower, but that part had long since been drowned out by sheer need. Cloud was panting, pulse racing, skin sweat-slick as he writhed beneath Zack's attentions. Zack wasn't being gentle, hadn't even tried to make the prep pleasurable for Cloud, but it was the sort of situation where he couldn't lose, since Cloud got off on that anyway.

In the end, he wasn't much better off than Zack. Hard and aching and fucking desperate for it.

"Do it," Cloud gasped. "I want it, want you, Zack, please!"

What Cloud really wanted was to forcibly grab Zack and drag him down on top of him, kiss him again as Zack shoved his way inside Cloud. But he couldn't with his wrists bound. He was at Zack's mercy; including at his mercy if Zack chose to tease.

Thankfully, they were both too wound up for that. Zack didn't even bother to get undressed, only shoving his pants down far enough to get at Cloud. He slicked himself with lube, and then head of Zack's cock was nudging against Cloud's entrance. Cloud let out a choked, needy groan.

"Put it in me already!" he demanded brokenly.

"Mouthy," Zack accused. Didn't stop him giving Cloud what he wanted though.

Zack's cock pushed inside of Cloud, and Cloud moaned. They had taken it a bit fast; the penetration burned for a moment, but then Zack settled with his hips against Cloud's ass and cock buried as deep as he could get inside him, and Cloud found it easy to relax and accept the intrusion.

"Nn, Zack…"

Zack groaned in response, his eyes glazed over. " _Yeah_ , Cloud, you feel so tight and good."

Zack felt good too. The hot, hard length of his thick cock throbbing inside of Cloud, filling him up. And when he _moved,_ fuck.

He built up the pace rapidly, until he was ramming into Cloud with deep, powerful thrusts. He held Cloud down, one hand on his waist and the other around his throat, while Zack's hips pistoned between Cloud's legs, drilling and filling him with every thrust.

Oh, gods. _Gods_. It was so easy for Zack to drive Cloud into a writhing mess like that. Cloud's hips rolled, meeting Zack's thrusts, and his legs locked around Zack's waist.

Zack fucked him, hard. And Cloud had never felt so good in his life.

The hand around his neck squeezed briefly, then shifted higher. Pushing Cloud's chin back, exposing Cloud's throat. Right, Cloud remembered distantly. Zack had needed to feed too. Which meant Cloud was going to get his fantasy of being fucked and fed on at the same time fulfilled, right there and then. Oh, _fuck_.

Zack kissed Cloud, deep and heated and messily, before his mouth moved lower, to the pulse point on Cloud's throat.

Those fangs penetrated Cloud's flesh at the same time Zack's cock slammed into him, and Cloud cried out.

He was a wreck. Trembling, panting, writhing and arching beneath Zack. It was even better than he could've imaged, though more intense as well. Sensations merged into something blissfully overwhelming, and Cloud's spinning head couldn't keep up.

Teeth and tongue working at the open wound on his throat, Zack's cock hot and heavy in his ass, hands bound. His own erection, achingly hard, trapped between his stomach and Zack's.

Cloud came without even needing to be touched.

It was unexpected, and the force of his orgasm felt like it knocked all the air out of him. His vision swam. The combination of coming and being fed on at the same time left him close to blacking out entirely; he felt like he couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't do anything except drown in the waves of shuddering pleasure.

Zack must have finished as well at some point, but it was a long time before Cloud had the brainpower to realise his pleasure had faded into just the blissful aftershocks. His mouth was still on Cloud's throat, but soothing now, only lapping at the wound to encourage its healing again.

Cloud breathed in, deep and shaky. "Fuck," he muttered.

Zack gently touched Cloud's face. "You okay?"

Yeah. Cloud was okay. He didn't think he was physically capable of moving right then, and even if he had the capacity for it, he _knew_ he would have collapsed the moment he got too his feet. He felt oddly heavy, yet light and floaty at the same time. But he was _so_ okay.

Zack wiped Cloud down, between his legs and some of the stray blood that had trailed down his throat. The belt around Cloud's wrists was undone; Cloud must have been tugging too hard at them without even realising, because there were red welts where the leather had dug into Cloud's skin. Zack took Cloud's wrists between his hands and evaluated them – it took Cloud a very long moment to realise Zack was looking worried.

He let Cloud's wrists fall limply to his sides.

"Cloud…" Zack stopped and sighed. "Shit. I shouldn't have… normally I'd go to one of the others when things get this bad, 'cause I know we can all get a little rough, but I thought you'd want it to be you—I didn't want to hurt you."

"Nn," Cloud said. "Didn't. Was good. Cuddles, please."

At least that got Zack to crack a smile. He lay down next to Cloud and drew Cloud into his arms. Cloud was still shaking a little, but his warm weight and steady breaths were reassuring. Zack stroked his hand through Cloud's hair.

It was a long time before Cloud stirred himself back into coherence.

"The others…" he tried.

"Shh. You don't need to worry about that now, Cloud."

There was a thought at the edge of Cloud's mind, something important, but his brain was still a little too shorted out to put the pieces together. "They… used to be in SOLDIER too, didn't they?"

Zack stared at Cloud for a moment. "Uh. Yeah. Before all that got shut down, we worked together. How did you figure that one out?"

"Was thinking," Cloud said. He was too exhausted to elaborate any further, leaving Zack slightly baffled.

Zack gave Cloud a gentle nudge. "Hey. I'm just gonna get you some water, okay? You can sleep after that, but you'll feel better if you drink first."

Cloud nodded. When Zack got back, he had to held Cloud sit up so he could actually sip from the glass of water, most of his weight leaning against Zack's chest. But he did seem to perk up a little after that.

"Cloud…" Zack started.

"Mm?"

"Firstly, I'm sorry for being a bit rough with you today."

Cloud shot him a lopsided grin. "Didn't I tell you before I like it hard?"

"Of course you did, you little minx. But you gotta realise, we can't do that too often. I don't wanna damage you, you know?"

"I'm not gonna break."

"I'm thinking more about blood loss issues than your ass."

Cloud snorted a quiet laugh into his water, but he supposed Zack had a point.

"So, secondly. You know how it came up before, about regular feeders?"

"What about them?" Cloud asked, trying to cover the way his breath caught in his throat. Was Zack gonna propose what Cloud was thinking…?

"Not gonna lie, it's a lot better for us to have someone to feed off regularly. Every day or every other day. It keeps our energy levels topped up. Like a gas tank. If we're always only at half full, it doesn't take too long without a fuel break before you're in trouble, you know? Normally if we're on a longer mission, it's taken into account, but on a shorter mission that happens to overrun… well, you saw how well that goes. If we're at full tank to begin with, there's a little bit more leeway."

"So, obviously it's better for you to have someone," Cloud concluded. Gods, he wished Zack would just say it already.

"Yeah. And… you. I'd like it to be you."

There. Cloud knew it had been coming, but it still made his heart swell. He smiled. "Well, _duh_. I've already agreed to be your boyfriend; you can feed from me whenever you need."

"A little bit, every day. Would that be okay with you?"

"More than okay. Dumbass."

"Even though it can get a little bit addictive for the person being fed from?"

"Pretty sure I'm already addicted to you." Cloud tried to kiss Zack, but he was too weak still to stretch as far as Zack's lips. He settled for pressing soft kisses against Zack's jaw.

Zack leaned down and kissed Cloud properly. "You ought to rest up," he said.

"Ugh, again?" Cloud complained, but there was no real protest behind it. He felt shaky as hell; he knew he was in no state to be doing anything other than resting after another heavy feed. And a good fuck. In fact, staying in bed sounded pretty perfect. "Well, as long as you stay here with me."

Zack grinned. "You drive a hard bargain."

He gently laid Cloud down against the pillows again, then stood up and stripped off the clothing he still wore. In just his boxers, he crawled back into bed to lay alongside Cloud, spooning him from behind. He kissed the back of Cloud's neck.

"'Night, Cloud," Zack murmured.

Cloud only hummed a vague, blissed-out agreement, already half asleep again.


End file.
